I was recently at an event and I saw something that really frustrated me. My friend and I were observing the bike course and we saw the race director standing in the course directing cyclists to either go to the right to finish or go to the left to head out onto the second loop. One of the cyclists got confused and went the wrong way. Just as this happened we heard a spectator YELL at the race director something along the lines of, “Come on, quit standing around, do something!” Within a minute, it happened again and the spectator yelled with even more enthusiasm at the race director.

This brings up an important issue that a lot of athletes overlook. While the race directors do their best to ensure a safe and well marked course, there are going to be instances in the heat of competition where you may become confused and potentially go off course. First and foremost in racing, it is the responsibility of the athlete to know the course. With all the information available there is no good reason not to.

Start with the event website. Most races will have course maps for each leg of the run or at the very least a “course description.” A simple Google search will yield any number of course previews. You may even find one on this site right here. Don’t forget to check out the self-mapping sites out there as well, mapmyrun.com (also mapmyride.com and mapmytri.com) and motionbased.com for example. If you’ve exhausted all of these options, send an email to the race director. Most are very willing to help and will send detailed information on the course or direct you to the appropriate place.

Don’t forget, the expo is a great place to get race course information. This is also a great opportunity to take out that course map and go scout the area either by car or bike. Check for any potential hazards like tight turns and get to know the intricacies of the course. For, example if there is a hill you know about that one of your competitors doesn’t you have a great advantage going into the race as you can ensure that you are in the proper bike gear or have conserved the proper amount of energy on the run to conquer the hill as fast and efficiently as you can.

If you insist on showing up to an event without getting any course information make sure to get there early to, at the very least, check out the transition set up and the swim, bike, and run starts. And most importantly, pay close attention to the signs posted through out the course. You may end up making last-minute decisions like some of the athletes had to do in this race.

Written by Jay Pedersen